Starting Over
by aries03
Summary: AU. Takes place after the ferryboat accident. Meredith must learn to live again after her neardeath experience and Derek giving up on her. Please note...chapters 9,10, and 11 have been edited from original posting.
1. Chapter 1

A slight knock on the door caused her to look up from her gloom. She had been crying for hours. Wearily, she pulled herself up from the couch to go answer the door.

"Oh. Mark. It's you."

"Hey. I came over to see how you were. I was really concerned about you after your accident, but man, you really look like crap."

"Gee, thanks. Well, I guess the polite thing to do would be to invite you in. There's a beer in the fridge. Help yourself."

She slid back down onto the couch while Mark disappeared into the kitchen. As much as she would have loved to continue to wallow in her misery, she was actually glad for the company. All of her roommates were working. It wasn't long before Mark reappeared from the kitchen and slid down beside her.

"Well, you came a little short on the beer offer, but I suppose this water will suffice. So, are you going to tell me why you're crying?"

"That noticeable, huh?"

"Um. Yeah. I would say so."

"He broke up with me."

"Derek? Really? He broke up with you? He seemed so attached to you when you had your accident. Wow. Never saw that one coming."

"Me either. That's the problem. He…he…actually seemed mad at me….said I didn't even try to swim…like, like…I wanted to drown in the Sound."

"Well, did you?"

"Well, no…not at first, anyways. I really did try to swim, but something…I don't' know….something came over me…all the hurt and pain…and I just gave up. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. It was a moment of weakness, and I regret it."

Tears were streaming down her face.

"He…well, he said he couldn't carry me anymore."

She could see the rage build up in her companion's face.

"Are you freakin' kidding me? You…in such a fragile condition…heck, even if you weren't in such a fragile condition…and he just gives up on you. That's low. That's lower than I would expect Derek to go. If it was me….I would have relished in the fact that my beautiful girlfriend was still alive, and I would have given it all I had to make you feel better because, well, you need love right now, Mer. You need love, and support and…"

"What are you saying, Mark?"

"Nothing. Nothing. It was stupid. Come on. Get cleaned up. We're going out for lunch, and I won't take no for answer."

……………………………………………..

They returned a couple hours later to a still empty house.

"Looks like all your roommates are gone. Do you want me to stay for a little while so you don't have to be alone?"

"It's okay. Really. I'm fine."

"Code word for: 'Please stay. I'm not really fine. I want lots of hugs and encouragement'."

She gives Mark a little slap on the arm and burst out laughing.

"Hey! You aren't supposed to be able to read my mind like that!"

"Come on, Grey. Everyone knows that fine _isn't_ really fine. Plus…"

He gives the 'McSteamy' smirk.

"…I know it would make you smile. I gotta keep my fellow dirty mistress smiling. It just wouldn't be right otherwise."

He turns her around and leads her into the house and sits her down on the couch…

"Stay!"

…and sits down beside her. He puts his arm around her…not in a 'I'm a manwhore, give me some loving' type of way, but in a rare 'Hey, I'm here for ya, kid' type of way. She leans against his shoulder, and they spend the rest of the afternoon watching corny movies on Lifetime.


	2. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer: There are some quotes used in this chapter that come from the series. I do not own these quotes._

Morning came early…too early. It was Meredith's first day back to work since Derek left her. She pulles herself out of bed and out the door with barely enough time. She is two minutes late for rounds, but for once, she didn't care. Bailey could yell at her all she wanted. That was the least of her worries. Bailey she could handle.

After rounds, she spots him standing by the nursing station. He must have spotted her, too, for he starts to walk over. She could tell just by his composure that he is in one of his bitter moods. He snarls at her and walked on by. He looked almost disgusted to see her. She runs off before she bursts out in tears. A passerby saw the incident and runs after her into the on-call room.

"Grey? Are you okay?"

"Oh, hey, Mark. I'm fine. Really."

"I thought we've been through this whole 'fine' thing already. Plus, I can see the tears running down your face."

"Yeah. I suppose….but seriously, you shouldn't sneak up on someone like that."

" Hey. I saw Derek being a complete jerk to you, and I can't stand seeing a fellow dirty mistress so unhappy. Come on. Spill it."

"You know…I was dedicated….from the very beginning. When Addison showed up, I was willing to stay with him. I wanted him to pick _me_…to love _me_. He broke my heart then. Then, I gave up my opportunity to be happy with McVet to be with him. Now, he breaks my heart again. All I wanted was the whole 'pretend to like your taste in music, let you eat the last piece of cheesecake, hold a radio over my head outside your window, unfortunate way that makes me hate you, love you'. That's what I had felt for Derek. I had even told him that when he was choosing Addison over me, but I never got it back. Seriously. Is it too much to ask to get it back?"

He wraps her in a supportive hug as he silently curses Derek.

"Like I said, Derek is a complete jerk. It'll be okay."

"We're adults. When did that happen? And how do we make it stop?"

I'm sorry you are going through this, Grey. I really am."

"Hey, when did you get all sentimental and crap?"

"Well….when the occasion suites me…"

And they both burst out in laughter.

"Come on, Grey, let's get back out there. You have to face it sooner or later. But if you need me, you know where to find me. Just don't spread it around."


	3. Chapter 3

She is lying on her bed, staring at the ceiling. The house is unusually quite because everyone went out to Joe's. She could have gone along, but with the day she had, she told them that she would rather stay home. Her eyes are just drifting shut when she hears a strange noise coming from outside. Startled, she throws on a bathrobe and creeps to the window. Hesitantly, she pulls the blinds aside to reveal the scene below.

_The read you Cinderella. _

_You hoped it would come true._

_That would day your prince charming_

_Would come rescue you._

_You like romantic movies_

_And you never will forget_

_The way you felt when Romeo_

_Kissed Juliet._

_All this time that you're been wasting._

_You don't have to look no more._

_I can love you like that._

_I will make you my world._

_Move heaven and earth_

_If you were my girl._

_I can love you like that._

_Be all that you need._

_I'll show you you're everything_

_That's precious to me._

_I can love you like that. _

She couldn't believe her eyes. She just couldn't. There he was, so very unexpectedly, holding a boombox over his head play a love song _for her_. She rushed outside to greet him.

"Mark! What are you doing? You're going to wake the neighbors."

"Sorry. This is a little cliché for me…a little out of my territory. Knowing you, it's probably a little cliché for you, too, but I had to make a point. Derek…well, he's a big jerk. He must be absolutely out of his mind to treat you the way he does. If it was me, I wouldn't make that mistake. I'm here to show you that I'm willing to give it a chance…the whole 'like your taste in music, let you eat the last piece of cheesecake, hold a radio over my head outside your window' thing….for you…if you give me a chance."

She goes over and presses the 'stop' button on the boombox. She lifts in from his hands, and for once, she is the one who initiates the hug. He pulls away.

"I'm not going to force you into anything. In fact, I'm going to walk away. Not that I want to, but I want you to have plenty of time to think it over. I just want you to know that, despite my reputation, I am not Derek. When I commit to a relationship, I truly commit. Few people actually know that about me. Consider yourself one of the few, but please, keep it in mind."

And with that, he picks up his boombox and walks off into the night. Meredith is left to stand there and stare. Nobody had ever taken that much initiate into making her happy before. Nobody. She really didn't see it coming from Mark with his 'manwhore' reputation.

After a few minutes, she realizes how chilly the night air has become. She finally turns around an enters back into the house. Tears stream down her face for the millionth time for the day, but this time, she shed tears of joy.


	4. Chapter 4

Some things do not take ages to think over. Some things are so obvious, there needs no explanation. To Meredith, this was one of those things. Today, she was five minutes late to rounds. She didn't care. She saw Derek again. He was even more jerk-ish today. She didn't care. She only cared about one thing.

She waited for the right moment. She saw him walking down the hall, and she shoved him into the on-call room.

"Okay. Listen. I came to this conclusion after you left last night. Derek…well, he was a big jerk to me, and I let him be. I let him bulldoze me over numerous times. That stops today. You…well, Mark, you have been nothing but supportive. I still remember that first day that I had met you. You were trying to flirt with me, and Derek came and punched you. Then, you did your own stitches. Even on that day, you were nice to me."

"Well, how could I resist? And here you thought I was just a visitor in the hospital!"

"Seriously? I'm trying to spill my heart here and you make a smirky comment like that? But anyways, you were always nice to me. We were the 'dirty mistresses'. We were 'dark and twisty' together. Instead of falling back on the people who were most like me, I ran to Derek and tried to be 'bright and shiny Meredith.' Obviously, it didn't work."

"Grey…you're babbling again. I love it."

"Yeah. Yeah. Anyways….you were there… all along…and I was so focused on Derek, I was blind to you. Like that old song goes that my grandpa used to sing when I was very little '_I overlooked an orchid. I was searching for a rose_'. Well anyways….for once, screw words. This is what I'm trying to say…"

She wraps her arms around him, pulls him as close as possible, and gently brushes her lips to his. He starts to pull away.

"Meredith…I know this might sound shocking, but I don't want to be 'just the rebound guy'…."

"Oh, shut up."

She pulls him back close and this time gives him a more passionate kiss. He can't help but reciprocate. A strange feeling fell over Mark. He realized at that moment he didn't want Meredith just for the sake of having her…he wanted her more than he ever wanted anything else…because he truly cared for her and wanted to be close to her. She could sense it and kissed him again. It wasn't too much longer before they both gave in.

Afterwards, he held her close…not daring to let her go quite yet. Eventually, though, he had to get ready to scrub in for the surgery he had planned. He gives her one last kiss, and they exit back out into the hallway. The hallway appeared deserted to them, but they missed one person lurking in the background…the one person whom neither of them wanted to see.


	5. Chapter 5

"Meredith!"

"Derek. So you're talking to me now?"

"You are a little _slut_, aren't you? I mean, I thought so before when you were with Finn, but now…now I know it."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me. You're a little _slut_. You sleep with inappropriate men when things don't go exactly the way you want them to."

"What in the world are you talking about?"

"I saw you. I saw you coming out of the on-call room…with him. It doesn't take a brain surgeon to know what you were doing in there...but guess what, Meredith…I am a brain surgeon. You can't pull the wool over my eyes and pretend to be all innocent. You….well, you deserve to be called out."

"Hey! You might have bullied me in the past, but I am sick of it. You listen to me! What I do, and whom I do it with, is none of your business anymore. You don't want to have to 'carry me' anymore. Remember that conversation? You walk around, starring me down in disgust, but you can't get to me anymore. I won't let you!"

"Oh, you won't let me, will you? Well then, why are you crying? Hmmm? Did I hit a sore spot? Did I hit the nail on the head? I think you know that truth, Meredith. I think you know…"

Bam! Derek lands flat on his back, blood starting to trickle from his nose, and Mark stands there with his fists still out.

"Don't you dare to talk Meredith like that! She doesn't deserve to be treated that way, Derek. Just because you are too blind to see that, doesn't mean the rest of the world is blind, too. For God's sake, you have hurt the woman enough…and what right do you have? She's right, you have no right to mettle in her business anymore. So we had a blissful afternoon in the on-call room. That's none of your business anymore, bud. You let her go. Foolish, yes. Moronic, definitely. You had your chance, and you let it slip through your cowardly little fingers. She's been hurt enough by people she had chosen to give her heart to. She deserves to be happy…however she chooses to find her happiness. But, just so you know…I _care_ about Meredith. I care enough about her to knock the crap out of you if your ever try anything like that again. You hear me?"

Derek just stares up in a daze. He couldn't believe Mark was standing up for Meredith like that. Mark continued to stare him down for a moment before turning to Meredith.

"Come on, Meredith. My surgeries are over for the afternoon. I'm taking you home."

A crowd was beginning to form around the nurse's station, but nobody was willing to help Derek up. Even though Meredith was not always liked, Derek had definitely crossed the line this time, and everybody knew it.

Mark wraps his arms around Meredith and held her close as they walked. He didn't care who saw them. He just wants to be there for Meredith…to show her that she deserves to be loved…even if some people beg to differ.


	6. Chapter 6

Twilight was on the brink as the two made their way off the street in front of Meredith's house., his arm wrapped around her shoulder…hers around his waist.

"Everyone is going to Joe's after work. The house is empty…if you want to come in."

"So, I must ask…"

He said with a smirk as she unlocked the door.

"…if I am no longer with Addison and you are no longer with Derek, are we still the dirty mistresses?"

She burst out laughing.

"No matter what we do, Mark, we will always be the dirty mistresses. (pause) That was totally nice of you…you know…with Derek. A little more dramatic than I think I've ever seen you before, though, I must say. I've never seen you that passionate about anything that wasn't to directly benefit yourself."

"Mmm. I see. Well, the way I see it…if you are 'happy' than that _does_ directly benefit me…_alot_"

She slaps him in the arm.

"Hey! I was trying to compliment you and you have to go thinking in the gutter."

His smirk gets even bigger. He tilts his head a little and laughs.

"But Meredith…I thought you knew my mind was always in the gutter…"

She starts to pout.

"Oh, come on. You know I was only joking. In all honesty, Derek deserved it. You, _my dear_, are not a slut. Seriously…he let you go, and now he is all super jealous. He pouts like a little girl. He pouts _worse than you do_, and that's saying a lot.

She slaps him in the arm again.

"Are you saying I pout like a little girl?"

"Yes."

"Well then…."

She smirks back.

"…As long as we got that straight."

She walks inside and turns her head slowly back, indicating that he should follow. He can't help but notice how her hair shimmered in the light and to see that little twinkle in her eye. He pulls her into a seductive embrace. She lingers for a moment and then starts to pull away.

"Now, now, mister. Not so hasty. We have all night in front of us."

"Oh, I know we do, and I intend to use every single second of it."

"Oh, really?"

"Mmmm. Really."

This time he pulls her into an embrace, and she doesn't fight back. She figured that after what he did for her today, he deserved a little reward, and hey, who says _she_ can't have a little reward for herself?


	7. Chapter 7

"He WHAT?!?"

Mark hears Meredith screaming upstairs. He chuckles and goes back to his morning coffee.

"_Christina Yang_…you better not be joking about this. This is not the kind of stuff you joke about."

"Come on, Mer. When do I ever joke _with you_ about things like this?"

"So he's really gone? Just like that…up and leaves!"

"Yeah. I got to work this morning and he was missing. I thought he took a day off to recover from the humiliation of yesterday and McSteamy, but no, Burke said he left. Go figure…I mean…look at the last time Mark ended up with one of his women…"

"But this is _different_ We weren't together anymore."

"I'm just saying. It's not worth getting your panties in a bundle over. _He's_ not worth getting your panties in a bundle over. Go be happy with your manwhore."

"Gee, thanks"

"Hey. I gotta go before the Nazi catches me on the phone. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah. Thanks. Bye."

She hadn't seen Mark sneak up behind her. She could feel his arms slip around his waist.

"He's gone. Derek's gone."

"No complaints here."

"I just CAN"T believe he LEFT like that…after all we had. I'm not saying I still want to be with him. I don't. D-E-F-I-N-A-T-E-L-Y not. But still. Common courtesy would be to say goodbye when you skip town. SERIOUSY!"

He swings her around so that he's looking at her face to face. 

"Meredith, look at me. This is typical Derek. When things don't go his way, he pouts like a little girl and then runs away. It's not you. It's _him_. He's the one who left _you_. Now, you were so happy this morning when you woke up. Don't let this get to you."

"I know this shouldn't bother me. I'm not with Derek anymore. He shouldn't be able to _get to me_ anymore. I think I need some time to think. I think I need to be alone right now."

She tries to shove Mark off and run, but he gently grabs her and pulls her back into a hug.

"Hey, now. Don't do that. You might have gotten away with that in the past, but I won't let you do this to yourself. I _am not_ leaving. You _do not_ deserve to be alone right now. In fact, I think we should stay in bed all day."

She raises an eyebrow.

"Well, aren't we the subtle one?"

"Subtle has never been my strong point."


	8. Chapter 8

"Hey, Meredith?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you still miss Derek?"

She cuddles in closer to Mark. She can't help but revel in the beautiful night on the porch swing as she thinks about the seriousness of the question before her.

"Seriously, Mark. That isn't a fair question to ask. Derek and I…we had a weird, complicated thing going. For quite awhile there, we were…you know…pretty close. I can't forget that never happened. It's been a few months, and I've moved on. It's just strange, you know, not seeing him around anymore, but I guess I don't _miss him_, miss him."

She watches as his face kind of drops.

"I'm sorry. I know. That was an unfair question."

"Mark, seriously, what's really going on?"

He almost speaks in a whisper.

"I'm afraid I will never be what Derek was to you."

She pulls away from him and gives him a moment of silence. Then, she stands up like she is about to walk away.

"You're right. You will never be what Derek was to me."

His shoulders drop, and he looks like he is about to cry. She moves in so that she is towering over him before she continues.

"You will never be what Derek was to me. That's true. Derek…he played mind games with me, when things went bad…he said nasty things, he lied to me about his ex-wife, and when I drowned after the ferryboat accident…he did save me…but then he left me in a pool of confusion. You, Dr. Mark Sloan, will never be what Derek was to me. You actually treat me right."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

He finally looks up into her glowing eyes. She wipes a stray tear from his eye. She tries to refrain but then starts to chuckle.

"My goodness, Sloan, I've seen more emotions from you in the past couple of months than I think I've seen in the rest of the time I've known you combined. What's happening to the manwhore I used to know? What will people think?"

"I think its love. That's what happening to me. I love you, Meredith Grey."

After a few moments of silence…

"I've shocked you, I know. People don't see me as the 'in love' type. Heck, I don't usually think of myself as the 'in love' type. To tell you the absolute truth…I don't think I even loved Addison. I _wanted_ to love Addison. I really did, but I didn't actually love her. But you, you're different. You change me in ways I want to be changed. When I hold you, the rest of the world just kind of dissipates and butterflies form in my stomach. I always thought that was a myth until now."

She sits back down beside him, and he wraps his arm back around her before continuing.

"You really are my 'like your taste in music, let you eat the last piece of cheesecake, hold a radio over my head outside your window' person."

They sit side-by-side on the swing for about another hour…nothing needing to be said…before Meredith mutters something too quiet for him to hear.

"What was that?"

"I love you, too"


	9. Chapter 9

_AN: I took a little leap on this one. Some of you may not be happy, but I think that sometimes tragedy is needed to show us who we really are and to bring us closer to the ones we love._

…………………………………………

"I just can't believe this is _real_."

She zips up the back of her little black dress and slips on a pair of black heels. He does his best to get his tie straight.

"I know. It seems like some sort of cruel joke."

She starts muttering to herself in whispers. He could feel the anger building up inside of her.

You aren't still blaming yourself, are you?"

"Come on, Mark. How could I not…especially after that letter he sent?"

She reaches for the letter sitting on top of her dresser and reads it over in her head again like she's done ten million times before.

_Meredith:_

_I am sorry that I left Seattle without saying goodbye. I suppose I had owed you that much. I have decided not to leave this time without saying goodbye. I had left Seattle in hopes of finding myself. I suppose for years I have been unhappy but just trying to mask it and repress it. I took the last couple of months to do some traveling...to revisit some of the places of my past, but after all of that, I still haven't found the man inside of me that I want to be. That man is gone. I cannot find a source of happiness in my life anymore. I suppose that you had briefly made me happy, but even that is gone in my life now. You were just another piece to my misery. By the time you get this letter, I will be gone. I see no point in continuing on in this misery. _

_Sincerely,_

_Derek_

Mark slips the letter from her hands as tears slide down his cheek. He grabs her chin in the palm of his hand.

"Meredith, listen to me. Whatever was going through Derek's mind…that isn't your fault. We are all going to miss him. Heck, he was one of the best friends that I have ever had and my heart is literally _aching_ at the thought of him being gone, but he obviously had some deeper issues that he never let on to. I think that when he thought you had tried to drown yourself in the Sound, the idea starting to seep into his head, but that still isn't your fault. Nobody saw it coming. Nobody."

She says nothing but just continues to get ready to go watch her ex-love being lowered into the ground. He just stands back and watches her mourn. He isn't letting her run, but he knows that she still needs a little space.

………………………………………..

The service was as beautiful as a funeral could be. Everyone from Seattle Grace was there. Meredith could feel eyes sporadically gazing her way throughout, and she was glad to be home.

Mark helps slip off her jacket and hands her sweats to change into. She lies down on the bed, and he crawls in beside her. He kisses her forehead, covers her with the blanket, and snuggles up. Both had suffered a great loss. Nothing needed to be said at the moment.


	10. Chapter 10

A week had passed in near silence. Both needed the other, but neither felt the need to say much. Finally, Mark breaks the silence.

"Look, Meredith. I am not going to leave you if you don't open up about this, but we really need to talk about this. It's just not healthy to keep it all to yourself."

She glances up briefly before looking back down at the pamphlet from the funeral.

"To tell you the truth, I'm not blaming myself anymore. It was a tragedy. Despite all he did to me, Derek was a good man. You were right in saying he must have had some deeper issues that nobody knew about."

"Okay…so….if you're not blaming yourself anymore…why are you still so…I don't know…depressed about it? Oh, that came out wrong. Of course you'd be upset that he…you know…passed away. We all are…but you seem more depressed about it than seems healthy. I just want to make sure you're handling it okay."

"Not depressed. Just thinking."

"About Derek?"

"Actually, no. I mean, yes, I still am mourning the loss of a good friend, but what happened to him made me re-evaluate that day in the Sound."

For once, Mark is speechless. He doesn't know the right thing to say at the moment. He just creeps his arm around her and draws her closer so that her head is on his shoulder. She continues.

"Derek must have been feeling so much pain inside to do what he did. I don't want my life to come to that. I don't want to be that dark and twisty anymore. I am not saying that I want to try to be 'bright and shiny Meredith' again, but I don't want my life to slip through my fingers. The day of the accident in the Sound, I was woken up to how much my friends really care about me and what I have to contribute to the world. Then, Derek broke up with me, and I let that all slip from my mind again. I mean…don't get me wrong…these past few months with you have been wonderful. You…you have been my buoy among the icy waters…my friends, my life vest. In a way, Derek's…well, passing…reminded me of that."

"I guess they always do say sometimes it takes a tragedy to turn your life around."

"Well...something like that, anyways. I just don't want life to pass me by anymore, you know, because it's so precious. This past week…I've been using each day to appreciate the things in my life more and more…even though I might not have shown it."

"Wow! What a relief. I mean, yes, I have been doing a lot of mourning myself. Derek was my _best _friend, but part of my silence has been worry for you. I was so worried about you."

"I know, and that's the thing. You have been so wonderful to me. Mark. I don't want you to question what you mean to me. You have helped me in more ways then you know…just by refusing to leave. And…"

"And?"

"…and I don't want to lose you..."

"Hey, I haven't left you yet, have I?"

"…Marry me."


	11. Chapter 11

The sun was beating down on the two friends standing side by side. Six months…to the day…had passed since Meredith and he had that talk out on the swing and she had asked him to marry her.

"Did you know, Preston…that I always did like the smell of orchids? And they come in all sorts of beautiful colors. I mean, look at all these orchids here in purples, pinks, and oranges."

"You're nervous, aren't you?"

"Because I take notice to the beautiful flowers?"

"No, Mark, I find that weird. I can tell you're nervous because you keep fidgeting."

"Did you also know that I did not know blue was Meredith's favorite color. I mean, look at all this blue. It's marvelous!"

"Yeah. Definitely nervous."

"Wow. Look at Christina and Izzie. Those dresses are really nice. Such a lovely shade of light blue!"

"You do know what comes next, don't you?"

"Yeah. I sure do. My fairy tale ending."

The crowd begins to stand up. The music begins to change to _Ave Maria_. She appears in a stunning white strapless dress. There are 'ooo's and awww's', but he doesn't notice. All he notices is the way that piece of hair curls around the side of her face and how the light catches her eye just so. He notices the curves of her hand as they grip the bouquet containing a variety of orchids and how her dress accentuates her best features. He can't help but stare.

She glances up to notice him starring at her. While everyone else is starring at her, she is starring at him. She loves the way he looks in the tux and how he is trying hard not to show his emotions. He may be fooling everyone else, but she can tell he wants to let our tears of joy. She loves how she can feel him inspecting her and how wonderful that singular attention feels. She can't help but stare back.

The music is finished and the readings are read. He takes her hand and promises her his love.

"Meredith. We might not have been a couple long, but some things do not take long to realize. You have become my best friend, heart and soul. When it seemed like the rest of the world saw me as only a bad reputation, you gave me a chance to prove differently. You have also given me the chance to help you through the rocky times, and I think, together, we have grown stronger. So, Meredith, I take you to be my wife, to have and to hold, in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, for as long as we both shall live."

"Mark. I often refer to my life as icy waters in which I must tread. Waves have come crashing down upon me more times than not, but in these icy waters, you have been my buoy, my stronghold. When the waves get even stronger, you are my lighthouse…my beacon of light and hope. You have showed me a side of you that few people have ever known, and I share my deepest desires with you. So, Mark, I take you to be my husband, to have and to hold, in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, for as long as we both shall live."

The rings are exchanged. The preacher announces the new life. They seal their love with a kiss, and join hands as husband and wife for the first time.


	12. Chapter 12

"Well, McSteamy. I suppose I can no longer call you a manwhore. Well, I _had better not_ be able to call you a manwhore anymore…otherwise I'll have to kick you a new one."

"Gee, thanks for the lovely congratulations, Yang."

"I'm serious, Meredith…if he does _anything_ to hurt you, just tell me. I'll kick him a new one."

She gives Meredith an uncharacteristic hug and goes to find Burke.

"Your friends are so warm and loving, aren't they?"

"I know. Isn't it great! Hey…here comes Izzie!"

"Oh! Congratulations! You two look so _perfect_ together. It makes me want to cry! But anyways, I wanted to let you know that I brought the cake. I hope you like it. I made it a three tier instead of just a two tier. I hope you don't mind, but I just wanted it to be _perfect_."

Meredith starts to giggle.

"Izzie. I'm sure it's wonderful. If I didn't have faith in you, I wouldn't have asked you to make it. Thank you."

"Oh. There's George! I wanted to catch up with him before he left with Callie. I'll see you guys later, okay?"

Mark pulls Meredith into the corner and gives her a lingering kiss before whispering into her ear.

"You look so beautiful tonight. I can't believe someone so perfect is my _wife_."

She gives him a quick smile before responding in an equal whisper.

"You look equally stunning and are as equally perfect, and I couldn't be happier to be your wife."

Just then, the DJ comes over the loudspeaker.

"Please welcome onto the dance floor, for the first time as husband and wife, Mr. and Mrs. Mark Sloan."

He takes her hand and leads her out onto the wooden dance floor. He wraps his arms around her waist….hers around his neck. Instead of resting her head on his shoulder, they gaze into each other's eyes as the music starts to play.

_They read you Cinderella._

_You hoped it would come true_

_That one day your prince charming_

_Would come rescue you._

_You like romantic movies_

_And you never will forget_

_The way you felt when Romeo _

_Kissed Juliet…_

"Mark, this song is absolutely perfect."

"Well, it _is_ the song that led me to you."

And so they danced. As they made their way around the floor, Meredith could not help but be amazed how things turned out. Her near death experience in the Sound, the loss of a dear friend…she had to choose how to recover and start over from those tragedies. Instead of dwelling, she chooses to live, and in doing so, a love bloomed from the most unexpected of places.


End file.
